Brief Crossing (2001)
"Brève traversée" (original title)

Desire for a subject that functions like a brief fling with no future as such, yet embellished by that very fact. Because something fleeting and futureless is not necessarrily pathetic or ... See full summary »

Director:

Catherine Breillat

Writer:

Catherine Breillat

Stars:

Sarah Pratt, Gilles Guillain, Marc Filipi

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
Sarah Pratt	...	Alice
Gilles Guillain	...	Thomas
Marc Filipi	...	Magicien
Laëtitia Lopez	...	Assistante magicien
Marc Jablonski	...	Cuisinier du self
Christelle Dacosta	...	Douanier Français
Nicholas Hawtrey	...	Vieil anglais
Franck Lemaitre	...	Serveur de la boite
Philippe Quaisse	...	Photographe
Jean-Claude Cavelier	...	Serveur de la boite
Alexandre Le Balidec	...	Douanier Français

Storyline

Desire for a subject that functions like a brief fling with no future as such, yet embellished by that very fact. Because something fleeting and futureless is not necessarrily pathetic or trivial. A brief crossing, perhaps an initiatory trip. Filming a guy's "first time", filming him like a girl. Gut level skin deep... Nostalgia for vast ocean liners, for places "beyond the law" where you can venture outside of life, safe within an interlude. Describing a passion while respecting classical tragedy's unity of time and place, setting the stage for the eternal play of Masculine/Feminine. A hot-blooded Latin temperatment versus an apparently cool English one. A ship - one night - Sudden intimacy between an Englishwoman whose complexion is frosted by bitterness and a teenager whose gaze glows like ardent coals.

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Plot Keywords:

beyond the law | ship | sex | nerd | premature ejaculation | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

29 April 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brief Crossing

Filming Locations:

Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arte, GMT Productions, Unité Fiction

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 84 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.70 : 1

User Reviews

Just brilliant

These two actors (Sarah Pratt & Gilles Guillain ) previously unknown to me are just brilliant. Occupying the screen for most of the time their film characters are revealed to us through a series of conversations. Casually meeting on an overnight ferry bound for Portsmouth, Thomas a teenager and Alice a married woman exchange shy glances at first as they sit at the same table in the ship's cafeteria.

The feelings between the two grow more intimate as the night wears on. Alice finds Thomas so naive and innocent. He acknowledges he hasn't done so well at school but hopes to become a plastic surgeon because women are so concerned about their appearance and there's money in it. Alice is very critical about men in general claiming they are selfish and only have one thing in mind. She says she has just walked out on her husband.

It is interesting to watch Thomas trying to look and act older and Alice (letting down her hair ) trying to look younger. Alice is in a seductive mood and uses her womanly experience to snare him into her cabin. Shutting out the world they are now free to act without any inhibitions.

All scenes are beautifully handled by the director who is obviously devoted to detail. All scenes are believable. Alice always critical and somewhat cold seems to be constantly in control, while Thomas begins to be carried away by his emotions. To him Alice seems to be more desirable by the minute.

Finally there is the disembarkation scene. You think you know how it will all end, do you? Well think again. Life is never simple. Life can have its disappointments.

It was my intention to record this film for later viewing but I became so absorbed at the beginning I watched it right through. It is so pleasing to find a film that is so rewarding. Highly recommended.